The present invention relates to a method for controlling an information processing apparatus such as a home electric appliance and a personal computer (PC) connected to a network and in particular, to an information processing apparatus and a control method for realizing control between information processing apparatuses of different control methods in a network configuration having a plurality of information processing apparatuses of different control methods.
Conventionally, as the technique relating to a control method of an information processing apparatus in a network system having a plurality of control methods, for example, JP-A-2003-46535 discloses a network system having two networks connected to apparatuses of two connection methods: the home audio/video control (AV/C) which is a control method of an AV device and a universal plug and play (UPnP). By providing means for connecting to the network connected to the device of the UPnP discovery and control method, means for connecting to the network connected to the device of the AV/C method, and conversion means for converting a command of the UPnP discovery and control method into a command of the AV/C control method, the information processing apparatus compatible of the UPnP discovery and control method and the information processing apparatus compatible of the AV/C control method control the partner information processing apparatus.
By using the aforementioned conventional technique, in a network system including devices of the two control methods, i.e., AV/C and UPnP, it is possible to realize control of devices of the AV/C and the UPnP discovery and control methods by each other. However, no consideration is taken on the interavailability between the device compatible with the control method (Web based discovery and control method) of the device using the Web browser function and Web server function which are widely used as the Internet use method and the device compatible with the UPnP discovery and control method whose compatibility is advanced in the information processing device such as a PC.
Moreover, in the control method using the UPnP (UPnP discovery and control method), in order to realize control of the information processing device via the Web browser (or html (hyper text markup language) browser, hereinafter referred to as Web browser), the information (URL information) for accessing by the Web browser is defined in the UPnP discovery and control method (presentation URL information). By using this information, URL information is acquired if the information processing device is compatible with the UPnP and this URL information is specified by using the Web browser, so that the information processing device as a target can be controlled.
Control of the information processing device via the Web browser using the presentation URL information of the UPnP discovery and control method assumes that the information processing device B controlling the information processing device A compatible with the UPnP discovery and control method via the Web browser is compatible with the UPnP discovery and control method, and no consideration is taken on the control of the information processing device A compatible with the UPnP from the information processing device C of the Web based discovery and control method not compatible with the UPnP discovery and control method.
Furthermore, no consideration is taken on the control of the information processing device D having the Web server (or hypertext transfer protocol (http) server) function of the Web based discovery and control method not compatible with the UPnP discovery and control method from the information processing device E compatible with the UPnP discovery and control method having the Web browser because the information processing device D cannot provide URL information for accessing, for use of the Web browser, the information processing device E using the UPnP discovery and control method.